High-profile redevelopments, like the 12-story one that Weir's Furniture is planning for the block that holds its Knox Street store in Dallas, have a way of grabbing attention.

Maybe too much.

A new Weir's store will be ready for the Dallas-based furniture retailer to move back into sometime around 2019-20, but for now Weir's wants customers to know its original store is still open and being stocked the same as it has been for 70 years.

The Knox Street store won't close for another six to eight months, not until demolition and construction begin, said Mark Moore, Weir's chief executive officer and grandson of founder J. Ray Weir.

Mark Moore of Weir's Furniture

(Weir's Furniture/Courtesy photo)

Moore said he just can't be more precise about the timing. But customers keep asking. Some think the store has already vacated the building at 3219 Knox since the Farmers Branch store has expanded to handle the load when Knox does close.

Nostalgia took over as he offered a tour of the former business offices above the Highland Park Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain. His grandfather's office has grass cloth wall covering that was probably installed in the 1960s. He chuckled that it's stylish again. He pointed out other carved-out storage spaces on a mezzanine and an old conveyor belt that delivered boxes up to be stored in rows of stockroom shelving.

The Knox location has been expanded several times.

"We're in what used to be an alley," he said, walking through the center of the store east from the Travis Street opening where trucks unload.

Hard to believe with a roof above and more store on the left and on the right. The alley was closed sometime in the 1970s.

Walking into Weir's separate area called the Country Store, which has a working U.S. Post Office, Moore touched the exposed brick wall with the painted words "Apple Alley." It's the back exterior wall of the original building.

The Country Store opened inside Weir's in 1963. It still sells popcorn for 25 cents and features a working beehive. His grandparents modeled the Country Store after the ones they saw on a trip to New England, Moore said. The new store will also have the shop that sells gift items, home textiles, accessories and holiday decorations.

When it opened in 1948, Weir's was a long, narrow store, but packed, according to a photo from the family's archives.

The Weir family, which has a fourth generation working in the business, spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do with the valuable property. Not everyone was sure they wanted to reopen on Knox, but the majority prevailed, Moore said.

"We really want to come back, not just for the family's sake, but also for the employees and the customers," Moore said. "We looked at several options, but this property is our legacy and we have to return."

John Ray Weir, founder of Weir s Furniture, is standing in the original Weir's store on Knox Street. It was a small rectangle-shaped store. That's the original front door that remained in the same spot after several expansions of the store at 3219 Knox St. in Dallas. Weir founded the company in 1948. He died in March 2013 at the age of 102.

(Weir's Furniture)

Nostalgia aside, Moore shared some details about the new Weir's store being designed by GFF Architects.

— It will face Travis, giving up its Knox address to other yet-to-be-named shops.

— A driveway on Travis will lead to an underground parking garage with 800 spaces on six levels. That's for customers and the office workers who'll be working in the 250,000 square feet of space on the 10 floors above the two-level store. At night restaurant customers can use the spaces, Moore said.

— The store's second level will have a patio to display outdoor furniture.

— Each of the two store levels will have 14,000 square feet.

— The old street clock will be part of the new entrance.

— Trucks will access the building on its east side alley.

— The original building's tin roof and hardwood floors are going to be preserved to be used in the new store.

— The front door is original to the store and will be used somewhere in the new store.

— The façade of the former Highland Park Pharmacy operating now as the Highland Park Old- Fashioned Soda Fountain is part of the new building. But the inside will be new, Moore said.

"We promise we're going to do this redevelopment gracefully," Moore said. "It's going to enhance the neighborhood. It will look beautiful and timeless."